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Synonyms

oil well

American  

noun

  1. a well that yields or has yielded oil.


oil well British  

noun

  1. a boring into the earth or sea bed for the extraction of petroleum

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of oil well

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Ng sees prices for palm oil well supported above 4,600 ringgit a ton and resistance at 4,780 ringgit a ton.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 23, 2026

In Texas, a sinkhole around a former oil well in McCamey has grown 200 feet wide and 40 feet deep.

From Slate Oct. 17, 2025

The driller responsible for it, Patton Exploration, solicited companies to extend a pipeline to the oil well to capture the gas and evaluated whether the gas could be used to mine bitcoin.

From Salon Sep. 4, 2025

"In an oil and gas field, high resolution could be the difference between isolating the methane emissions from an oil well head from an adjacent pipeline," he says.

From BBC Mar. 3, 2025

While I spoke in supercilious accents, and looked at the room as if I had an oil well in my own backyard, my armpits were being pricked by millions of hot pointed needles.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

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